Puri: Puri police had a tough time dealing with an alleged threat to attack the Sri Jagannath temple. A warning was found scribbled on the wall of Maa Budhi Thakurani, a small temple located within the Parikrama corridor of Sri Jagannath temple.

“Terrorists will demolish the Srimandir. Call me, or else there will be destruction,” a threat was written in one graffiti. “There are several phone numbers mentioned on the wall of the temple. Words such as ‘PM Modi,’ ‘Delhi,’ were also mentioned,” a Puri resident said.

Police swung into action and began an investigation. They examined the CCTV footage of the area and found a person writing on the wall. Later, the person was identified as Raghunath Sahu (65) of Gadishagada village under Kanas block of Puri district.

He was spotted in the town and rounded up by the police.

During questioning, the police found that the person was mentally unstable. Police contacted his family members who said Sahu has a history of mental illness and that he had created such nuisances in the past too. Sahu had been absconding from the village for a couple of days and moving around in Puri, they said.

He was sent to district headquarters hospital for a check-up of his mental condition. If found mentally sound, he would be questioned again, Puri SP Pinak Mishra told reporters.